Apparently "everyone" told my husband to use the gas stove to heat our house. So its freezing and we are fighting, because I and Google think it is a huge CO risk.

What about the oven (or is it not gas)? I mean, if you were cooking soup for 5 hours is it any different than using burners to warm up the kitchen even without food on it?

This! I mean, I think when you imagine turning on all the burners/oven with nothing on them/in it with a gas stove, yeah it feels like a bad idea and a CO risk. But I have a gas stove/oven and when I make a large pot of stew on just one burner for hours, it really does heat up the place. I think having simmering something in a pot on the flame really does help with increasing the heat. Or having something in the oven like a couple loaves of bread... :)

Apparently "everyone" told my husband to use the gas stove to heat our house. So its freezing and we are fighting, because I and Google think it is a huge CO risk.

What about the oven (or is it not gas)? I mean, if you were cooking soup for 5 hours is it any different than using burners to warm up the kitchen even without food on it?

This! I mean, I think when you imagine turning on all the burners/oven with nothing on them/in it with a gas stove, yeah it feels like a bad idea and a CO risk. But I have a gas stove/oven and when I make a large pot of stew on just one burner for hours, it really does heat up the place. I think having simmering something in a pot on the flame really does help with increasing the heat. Or having something in the oven like a couple loaves of bread... :)

Or even just put water in a pot and put it on? I dunno.

I got back to CA last night. I think half my plane was people who were supposed to fly out earlier this week. DC area didn't have any major damage, we only lost power for an hour.

I am so sad for the New Yorkers and NJers, I hope everyone gets the support they need and clean up happens quickly. Hopefully the weather doesn't turn too quickly!

On Monday night at the height of the storm I smelled a super strong gas/chemical smell in my front & back yard and throughout the house. Yesterday I discovered there was an ~200 - 300,000 gallon oil spill basically just behind my backyard.

That's one of the most informative articles I've found yet. Apparently it wasn't even reported until Wednesday. I actually called OEM on Mon night because I was so worried about the strong smell, and an odd fog that had developed - I thought maybe it was a chemical fire. (I didn't want to bother 911 or police, etc, so I thought they were the best to call) They directed me to the fire dpt, who said, "ok foul odor - we're sending someone out". We saw flashing lights on our block about 30 min later and that was it. Both of them, when I called I said, "I'm just wondering if you got any reports of some kind of fire in this area, because of this smell...etc etc". Neither said anything like, "oh yeah we know what that is".

I don't really know if that's what the smell was, but it is at the exact time the news said this spill happened. Now the Coast Guard is monitoring the air and they say, "On the up side, regular air testing by the Coast Guard’s Atlantic Strike Team has turned up no problems so far for both clean up workers or the nearby residential community, says Egal, one of the team’s hazardous materials specialists. Oxygen levels are normal; there are no detected levels of carbon monoxide or hydrogen sulfide; and volatile organic compound levels are consistent with what might be created by regular street traffic."

Great. But what were the levels on Monday when it happened, 2 days before they reported it and started monitoring? It was all throughout my house, I could smell it going into my toddler's room through the vents in his window air conditioner which face that area.

It makes me so angry how these oil companies get away with so much. They never notify the local community until it is too late. My grandfather who lived here in this area that is now devastated by the storm used to work at Hess and the stories he told, my god. Still, I somehow can't believe I live within walking distance of a massive spill. And I feel really terrible for the poor wildlife.

_________________I'm not asking for utopian dreams...just a little peace in this world. That's a logical thing. - Deee-Lite

Last edited by Aubade on Fri Nov 02, 2012 6:34 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Its crazy. I am upset with one of my friends for posting that "she is exhilarated that humans are starting to feel the costs of our misdeeds." She also posted that no one she knows was severely affected by Sandy. I guess she thinks losing your home or having no power for days is no big deal. She of course has power.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

The power has been out in my grandmother's apartment complex all week. My mom kept inviting her over, because as the week has went on, it's gotten colder and colder. She finally caved and came over tonight. Our cat freaked when she saw my grandmother's dog. This'll be a fun night.

Its crazy. I am upset with one of my friends for posting that "she is exhilarated that humans are starting to feel the costs of our misdeeds." She also posted that no one she knows was severely affected by Sandy. I guess she thinks losing your home or having no power for days is no big deal. She of course has power.

WHAT??? Good for forking her that she doesn't know anyone severely affected. Many people and animals have died, probably thousands, have entirely lost their homes and businesses, many have lost everything they own, thousands have suffered with zero help in cold, dark, waterless apartments for days without any ability to get out or even flush their toilets, people who rely on food stamps in lower Manhattan have had no way to get food for a week and haven't had their EBT cards refilled because the system was down, one could go on. And it's small change in the scheme of things, but I am forking sick of not having power, heat, or hot water at home or a non-crazy way to fill my gas tank so I can go to work each day without freaking out!

(please don't hate me) a lot of time, change won't happen unless a tragedy happens. bloomberg businessweek wrote an article called "it's global warming stupid" and featured it on their cover! people are coming around. (too bad it took this long for it to happen, and that it happend so horribly) but maybe now people will try to do their part. maybe the government will look more seriously at that livestock's long shadow study and then stop the subsidies. :-/

Yes, the GOP is thinking that the gas shortage will build support for Mitt "Damn The Birds" Romney's drill anywhere as long as we get oil policy, while the liberals think it will build an awareness of global warming and a need for sustainability. And of course the kooky evangelists think it will build support for God and his message against gay marriage.

I hope it makes us better people, but I don't have a ton of faith that we can escape the spin.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

There's a huge differenc between saying you're "exhilerated" that people are suffering or dead, and saying "I can only hope that some good can come out of this in the end." The former, rejoicing in the death and misery of your fellow human beings, makes you a crasshole of the highest order, whatever your reason for exhileration.

Joined: Wed Oct 20, 2010 2:20 pmPosts: 1082Location: Land of the First Kaiju

This morning (before the F was running under the East River) I went to change to the 4/5 in downtown Brooklyn to get into Manhattan. As I was coming upstairs, people were running - RUNNING - to the Manhattan-bound buses. I was soooo tempted to shout "SUCKERS!" as I meandered to the Manhattan-bound train. Only a handful of us headed over in that direction! Maybe people just don't know how to navigate through downtown? Anyway, thank god most of the trains are in service now that I'm back to work.

In other news, I'm really feeling for anyone who's not in a warm place tonight. It's cold out there. I hope people know where to go to find a warming center.

We are! Thanks LW! Our power came back on late on Monday (11/5) after the road crews (4-5 huge trucks) worked for about 4-5 hours on rehanging lines and cutting trees etc. It was crazy cold, and the guys were amazing. We took up a collection for them and got them coffee and donuts and everyone who could brought them snacks and cookies. We are all so grateful these people left their homes and families in Florida to come help us out.

Power has been restored to many people, but so many of my friends are still struggling without power and I hope this storm doesn't make things worse. I know it will slow recovery, but hope its not too bad. Three of my friends lost their homes and their towns are devastated. Someone wrote "it takes you a lifetime to fill a house, and 10 minutes for a frontloader to take it all away." It was so sobering to realize how fast you can lose everything.

I am so grateful to everyone who helped us - Our neighbors next door lent us a generator and our neighbors behind us (whom we have never met) didn't lose power, so they threw us extension cords to power our fridge and space heaters. So many friends offered us a place to stay, do laundry, charge phones and keep warm, and the lovely Jenna and her family threw Leela a party for her birthday when we couldn't. It was a reminder of how kind people are. Out of gratitude we donated to Homeless Animal Lifeline, getting pet supplies and rescuing animals affected by the storm (there are so many). So grateful for all we have, and so humbled by the fact that a few days without heat and electricity were really starting to break me. I have no idea how people survive being homeless for long periods, I don't think I could.

It puts a lot in perspective for me. I am still really annoyed by people bisqueing about how they feel betrayed by NYRR and having to pay the entry fee again. Road Runners donated many of the supplies that would have been used for the race, including bottled water, blankets, food, medical supplies, and tens of thousands of heat sheets and fleece ponchos. And many of the runners put in their time to help people, even if they couldn't run. I feel like NYC and NYRR did the best they could in light of the complete devastation. They couldn't guarantee the runners' safety, police and emergency people need to be at the devasted areas not securing the route, and its pretty insensitive to be running a race in places like Staten Island that look like a war-zone because people's homes have been destroyed. Plus if anyone needed medical attention, the hospitals still are dealing with the outfall from Sandy.

_________________My oven is bigger on the inside, and it produces lots of wibbly wobbly, cake wakey... stuff. - The PoopieB.

the area's supposed to warm up again so as long as no damage was done during the actual storm, i think people are in the clear for at least a few days.

i'm driving to jersey today with fingers crossed that most of my dad's town has power and that i'll actually be able to get to my mom's on saturday... i need to do some research and should probably throw this in the jersey thread, but, the parkway is totally open, right? i should be able to get into asbury park with no issues? i'm pretty sure it's just the totally devastated towns that are blocked, yes?urgh. i had nightmares about the shore last night.

_________________I'm one of those vegans that cuts corners when it comes to things like breastfeeding and stabbing you in the face~PranjalThat story would be adorable if it didn't end with herpes. ~Mo

Thank you Tofu-la for writing that all up. My mom is still without electricity. She said she heard something about Rockland Elec refusing to let any non-union workers help. I am unsure how I feel about that if true. She has no heat nor water (she has a well which requires an electric pump) and no generator. Thank goodness my brother lives close by and now has electricity; she is staying with him.

My heart is broken for the shore and all the homes and livelihoods lost there.